Car brake and starter



(NoModel.)

' Y. C. A. HOWE.l

' Car Brake and Starter.

Patented May 4, 1880.

INVENTUR` WlTNEEEEEi N.PErERS, PHOTO-LITHGGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C4 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. HOWE, OF N ILES, MICHIGAN.

CAR BRAKE AND STARTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,255, dated May 4, 1880. Application filed March 2, 18,80. (No model.)

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. HOWE, of Niles, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Car-Brake and Car-Starter, and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention, which is for use principally on street-cars, relates to that class of combined car-brake and car-starter in which the action of a pinion attached to the caraxle and two racks upon a spiral spring or its equivalent is made to stop the car and set it in motion again; and it consists, essentially, in arranging the racks and pinion in the same vertical plane, in connection with a system of rods and levers, throwing the racks into and out of engagement when requisite in the operation of the device.

The invention consists, further, in certain details, the construction and manner of operation of which are hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the device; Fig. 2, a detail View of the longitudinal central bar and spiral spring; Fig. 3, a reversed planof the invention, and Fig. 4 a detail view of the pedals and parts connected thereto.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, A, Figs. l and 3, represents the car-frame, havin g the usual front and rear transverse beams, a and a', and the front and rear axles, a2 and co3, attached in the usual manner, the front axle, a2, being provided with the fixed central pinion, a4.

a5 and a6 are sleeves fixed centrally by brackets or other proper means to the under surfaces of the beams a and a', respectively, and lying in the central longitudinal plane of the car-frame.

al is a platform secured horizontally to the front end of the frame A, and provided near its front edge with two openings, a and a9, Figs. l and 4, on each side of its central longitudinal line, at equal distances therefrom.

ctw and a are brackets situated on the front surface of the beam a, at equal distances on each side of its center. These brackets are capable of adjustment longitudinally on said beam by means of slots and set-screws, as shown in Fig. 3.

B is a tube which extends from the sleeve a5 to and partially into the sleeve a6. The

' tube B travelsin the latter sleeve, and has the circular stop b fixed rmly to its front end.

b', Figs. 2 and 3, is a slot in the bottom of the tube B, extending nearly the entire length ofthe same, and b2 a stop secured to the sleeve a6. The end of the stop b2 bends upward at right angles, and, entering the slot, bears against its rear end.

b3 is aA longitudinal spindle or rod, which travels within the tube B and sleeve a5, and b4 is a ring which surrounds the tube, and is attached to the rear end of the rod b3 by means of a set-screw, b5. b6 is an encirclingflange on the rod b3 near its front end and in front of the sleeve a5. b" is a spiral spring surrounding Athe tube B between the circular stop b and the ring b4.

It is evident from the foregoing that the said spiral spring may be compressed either by the forward motion of the rod b3 or the rearward motion of the tube B.

C is a vertical bar having its center securely attached to the front end of the rod b3, and provided at its upper and lower ends with the hinge-joints o and c', respectively. c2 is a horizontal rack, united at its rear end to the bar C by the upper hinge-joint, c, and extending forward slightly above and slightly beyond the pinion a4. c3 is a similar rack united to the bar C by the lower hinge-joint, c. The.

latter rack is situated as far below the pinion as the rack o2 is above the same, and its free end, which does not extend quite to the pinion, slopes upward and forward, as shown in Fig. l.

04 is a curved double spring, the center of which passes over the front end of the rod b3 and bears against the flange be, while its upor rods passing respectively through the open-v ings a8 and co9 in the platform al, and provided on their upper ends with the foot rests or pedals d and e. These rods are deeply notched at their lower ends, d and e', for a purpose hereinafter stated.

F is an oscillatin g bar, pivoted centrally to the lower end of a bracket or fulcrum, f, which is firmly ixed to the lower surface of the platform a7 on its central line. The ends of the bar F rest in the notches in the lower ends of the rods D and E, and are cleft or slotted longitudinally to accommodate the pins d? and c2 by which the said rods are fastened to the bar.

f and f2 are openings pierced in the bar F on each side of its center, at equal distances therefrom.

fG is a lever, the rear end of which is pivotcd to the bracket al, while its front end passes through the opening f. This lever is p'rovided at a proper point with an arm, g, projecting inwardly at right angles to the same and immediately above the front end of the rack c2.

H is a similar lever with its front end passing through the opening f2 and its rear end free. The lever H is pivoted near its central portion to a bracket, h, which is fixed ata proper point on the lower surface of the platform c7.

I is aconnecting rod or link, pivoted by its rear end to the bracket a, from which it runs forward and downward, and then, curving up around the axle a2, has its front end pivoted to the lever H in rear of the bracket h. is an arm projecting inwardly from the rod I at rightangles to the same and extending below the rack c3, so that the latter may ride upon it and engage the pinion when the rod I is raised.

The lever H is adjustable with reference to the rod I and bracket 71l by means of the two sets of holes L and h2, Fig. 1, and a pin.

The operation of the invention is substantially as follows: Fig. l represents the car running with all the parts in their normal position, the pedal d being elevated and the pinion a4 engaging neither of the racks.

When it is desired to stop the car, the pedal D is pressed down and the oscillating bar F and the pedal E thrown into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. This motion lowers the rod G and causes the arm y to press the rack c2 down. engages the pin-ion a4, the continued revolution of which draws the said rack and the rod b3 forward and compresses the spiral spring bI until the resistance of the latter equals the impelling force ofthe pinion. The same motion of the pedal d depresses, by means of the The latter thereupon rods I and H and bracket h, the projecting arm t', so that the rack c3 can pass the latter in moving forward without engaging the pinion.

When it is desired to start the car again the pedal e is pressed down, whichmotion lifts the upper rack out of engagement, and also, by raising the arm i, causes the lower rack to engage the pinion. The recoil of the spiral spring then acts by means of the rod b3, causing the said rack and pinion to rotatethe axle a2.

'Ihe following are some of the advantages of the foregoing form of construction: iirst, the two racks lying in the same vertical plane, it is not necessary that the pinion should have any sliding motion on the axle, therefore the former may be the more firmly secured to the latter, or, if desirable, both may be made in one piece; secondly, the arrangement of the pedals and levers permits the racks to be easily controlled by the feet of the driver, leaving his arms free, and not requiring him to change his position when operating the device; and, thirdly, the combination of the tube B with the rod b3 makes it possible to attach the pinion and racks to either end of the car, or, if desired, to attach pinions and racks to both ends.

When the pinion and racks are put on the rear end of the car the barC and flange 126 are fixed to an extension of the tube B behind the sleeve a6.

The flange b6 is a stop, which bears against v the sleeve adjacent to it and prevents the rod b3 from being drawn too far backward by the spiral spring'. It also acts as a support for the center of the spring c4.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, vis

l. In a car-startingdevice, the combination, with the pinion a4, racks c2 and c3, and proper actuating mechanism, of the rods D and E, oscillating bar F, levers lEI and G, and connecting-rod I, all constructed and arranged substantially as shown and described.

2. In a car-starti11g device, the combination of the spiral spring 127, slotted tube B, and rod b3 with the sleeves a5 and a, ring b4, and stops b, b2, and b, all constructed and arranged as shown and described, for the purpose specified.

3. In a car-starting device, the combination, with the pinion a4, racks c2 and c3, bar C, and spring c4, of the spiral spring 117, slotted tube B, rod b3, and sleeves t5 and a", as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. HOWE.

Witnesses:

THEODORE S. Wns'r, V. L. WEST.

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